"Escape from the Land of Snows reads like a great adventure yarn, yet along the way [Stephan] Talty helps us see the Dalai Lama not as statesman or symbol, but as a courageous and terrified young man forced to undergo one of history's most remarkable and unlikely transformations. We watch as a cloistered, teenage monk is thrust onto the world stage, finds himself in the path of Mao's juggernaut, and then rises—beyond all expectations—to the monumental task before him. This wonderfully rich narrative should be required reading for anyone who cares about Tibet, the Dalai Lama, or the power of spiritual integrity."—Greg Mortensen